ABC: Unfavorable views of Mitt Romney have soared, doubts about Newt Gingrich remain widespread and Barack Obama has advanced to his highest personal popularity in more than a year — all in advance of the State of the Union address in which Obama makes his case for a second term.

Fifty-three percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll express a favorable opinion of Obama overall, up by 5 points from last month to the most since April 2010….. As he’s gained, Romney has stumbled badly, with unfavorable views of the recent Republican front-runner up by 15 points in just two weeks.

…. The sharpest shifts have been among independents. Unfavorable opinions of Romney have soared by 17 points in this group since Jan. 8, to 51 percent; favorable opinions have dropped by 18 points among independents in the same period, to just 23 percent. Gingrich, for his part, has lost 11 points among independents since December, to 22 percent favorability. Obama, by contrast, gets a 51 percent favorable rating from independents.

…. Obama has advanced by 12 points in favorability among moderates, to 66 percent, nearly as high as his rating from liberals, 70 percent positive.

Greg Sargent: I’m not sure the Obama campaign could have scripted this more perfectly. In a remarkable bit of good timing, President Obama is set to deliver a State of the Union speech focused on income inquality and tax unfairness on exactly the same day that Mitt Romney will reveal that he made over $40 million in the last two years — all of it taxed at a lower rate than that paid by middle class taxpayers.

Steve Benen: …. Why did Romney set up $100 million trust funds for his sons without paying any gift taxes? Were his accounts in the Caymans and in Switzerland created to avoid paying taxes? Was the closing of the Swiss account related to this IRS investigation? And given all of the questions surrounding Romney’s Bain-era work, why does the Republican candidate continue to insist he won’t disclose returns from previous years?

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New ad: ‘What’ – Indiana Gov. Daniels in his own words, opposing Right to Work for Less.

From TPM Livewire:

Indiana Labor Unveils New TV Ad Against Daniels For SOTU Response

“Indiana labor groups have a new TV ad, responding to Gov. Mitch Daniels delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union tonight — focusing in on the state’s current political battle over “right-to-work” legislation, which would damage the ability of labor unions to organize and collect dues.”

Sue, you are a huge blessing to that poor woman and others like her. These Republican governors won’t be satisfied until we’re living a 2012 version of 19th century Dickensian England. Every last one of the R governors put in place in 2010 have been an unmitigated disaster and have caused untold harm. Bless you for providing the love and humanity these heartless governors lack.

It seems to me most of these Republicans have things back worth. They claim to be such religious folks, they wrap themselves in the Bible, but the Bible I read doesn’t say take care of the “RICH”, but forget the poor. These Republicans are all about taking care of that 1%, but blame the 99% for everything wrong. Cut program meant to help the middle class and poor, including wanting to go after Social Security and Medicare. But don’t touch the loop holes and other things they have to benefit the rich.

Sue, I hope you see this. I lit a candle for you at the grateful candle site to thank you and keep you in my prayers for all the good work you do for the homeless and poor. I hope I can catch up with you in one of the later threads.

Sue, and this is the man that the GOP usually puts on the A list of Republican “superstars” who could have won if they entered this year and are expected to run in 2016. In what universe does this make sense?

THANK YOU ALL SO…BUT IT IS CHRIST’S CALLING. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH MY HOMELESS AND LETS’S FACE IT…ANY OF US COULD BE THERE. THE MILLIONS SPENT FOR COSMETICS IN DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS FOR THE SUPERBLOWL IS INEXCUSABLE! THE REPUBLICANS HERE HAVE ALWAYS HAD THEIR PRIORITIES IN THE WRONG PLACE. OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IS IN SHAMBLES..WE HAVE 3,000 KIDS ANY GIVEN DAY HOMELESS…AND REGARDLESS OF HOMELESS HOUSING THEY JUST KEEP POURING IN. PEOPLE LIKE DANIELS HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT OUTSOURCE AND EDDIFY THEIR OWN INTERESTS IN THIS CITY. OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND ROADS ARE A JOKE. AS MUCH AS I LOVE MY AWESOME GOD…I WILL TELL YOU THAT HE IS NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT IS GOING ON WITH GREED ALL AROUND THE WORLD..IN FACT..HE’S DISGUSTED! WHAT GOES AROUND…COMES AROUND!

Blessings to you SUE DUVALL SMITH . May your Light always shine for the Bible says:

Isaiah. 58:10.

“And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

President Obama would never allow someone anything like that to go on. If someone stood up to speak and they were spreading lies, President Obama would correct them. It’s not Santorum’s job to defend President Obama , but as a human being, one who claim to be a religious man, it’s his job not to let lies be spread.

good morning TOD family.May God continue to guide,bless and protect Potus.Today is an important day for our Potus and our Country so I pray God;and the Holy Spirit take over Potus and inspire him and put the right words in his heart;head and on his lips

What a bunch of lying;arrogant;delusional and dangerous loons

If anyone can send these facts to DWS that would be fantastic.Please and thank you

until next time
Fred😉
—–

U.S. And Israel Cancel Joint Military Exercise In Spring |

It was supposed to be the largest joint military exercise ever carried out by the U.S. and Israel, with thousands of American troops travelling to the Mid East to work on missile defense issues. But now, the scheduled May date has been indefinitely postponed. An Israeli official told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Ron Kampeas that the “postponement principally had to do with budget cuts in Israel.” A U.S. official told Yahoo News’s Laura Rozen that Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak asked for the delay last month. The Associated Press spoke to an Israeli official who said the postponement reflected a desire to tamp down tensions with Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the U.S. warned Israel off an attack amid rising tensions. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marting Dempsey is set to visit Israel this week.

A major U.S.-Israeli missile defense exercise that had been planned to take place in the spring has been postponed due to a request by the Israeli Defense Ministry, American and Israeli officials told Yahoo News Sunday.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a request to the Pentagon last month that the planned joint exercise be postponed, a U.S. official told Yahoo News Sunday.

“It was Barak,” the U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

The Jewish Telegraph Agency’s Ron Kampeas reported earlier Sunday that the exercise was being postponed, ostensibly because of “Israeli budget cuts.”

Good Morning Fred. So good to see you and as always your sharing which is always so informative and on point. Still in my thoughts and prayers. Give Mom a big hug and here are hugs coming your way. Love you my dear TOD family member. Have a beautiful day.
(((((((Hugs)))))))HZ

Hello Fred, and thanks so much for all the 411 and the clearing up of Newt’s lying statements. Lairs, lairs, their pants are on fire. Now really folks, do you honestly think that God Is pleased with all the Lies? I mean Newt says that he’s been forgiven for his Insensitive devorces, but what about the Lies Newt? What about your Lies on PBO???????? Ahh newt, you have a mean snarl about you as you spew your Lies😦 It’s a turn off, and unacceptable. It Is YOU, Newt, that Is dispicable!!🙄 God Is watching you newt.

From the Greg Sargent (WaPo) article:
“Romney doesn’t just disagree with Obama on these fundamental issues; he personally symbolizes virtually the entire 2012 Democratic message. He is the walking embodiment of everything Dems allege is wrong with our system and the ways it’s rigged in favor of the wealthy and against the middle class. Yet this is the standard bearer the GOP seems set to pick”

An aide to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) resigned Monday after he was arrested for battery following a bizarre incident in which his wife alleged he rolled her up in a carpet, beat and kicked her.

Rubio’s Southwest Florida regional director, Michael J. Brennan, 39, was taken into custody Saturday by Lee County sheriff’s deputies at a motel in Fort Myers, authorities said. He was booked in the Lee County Jail and released after posting a $1,000 bond. Brennan has denied the allegations through his attorney.

Gingrich can praise Ronald Reagan all he wants today, but he was not nearly as complimentary while the Gipper was with us. Some of the things Gingrich said about Reagan back in the 80’s and 90’s would probably end a Republican’s career if uttered in 2012.

Today's Republican voters think they want a Reagan conservative, but they don't. Reagan was a solid moderate by today's standards. It's a shame that professional hacks like Newt Gingrich pretend they're upholding the Reagan legacy, when all they're doing is using his good name to confuse people.

EIA predicts a decline in U.S. dependence on imported oil, a result of moderate demand growth, increased efficiency, growing domestic production, and the use of biofuels and other nonpetroleum fuels. EIA expects net petroleum imports to drop to 36% in 2035, from a high of 60% in 2005. See Figure 1 for EIA’s projections.
EIA expects domestic oil and natural gasproduction to increase substantially. U.S. crude oil production is estimated to reach 6.7 million barrels per day in 2020, the highest level since 1994. Shale gas production is expected to be the driving force behind increased natural gas production, increasing from 5.0 trillion cubic feet in 2010 to 13.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035, accounting for nearly half of all domestic natural gas production, as shown in Figure 2.

It is true that Mr. Gingrich never registered as a lobbyist at the federal or state level. But he did many of the same things lobbyists do, including meeting with state lawmakers, members of Congress and federal officials to promote issues important to companies that were paying his consulting firm as much as $200,000 a year.
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His dealings with Novo Nordisk, a drug maker, show how his work could easily be viewed as lobbying. Novo, a Danish company, paid Mr. Gingrich to help expand the market for its diabetes treatments in the United States. A spokesman for the company said Mr. Gingrich did no lobbying, and provided only “guidance and strategic advice.”

But in its annual report to shareholders, Novo Nordisk offered a different take. It listed Mr. Gingrich’s work for the company under the category of public policy activities, noting, “Such activities are often referred to as lobbying.”

As to that, as the Los Angeles Times puts it, “At 67, Gingrich…has worked in D.C. as a legislator, business consultant, policy theorist, and author for the better part of 30 years…” Mitt Romney accurately depicts him as a lobbyist (which Gingrich denies while somehow managing to call Romney dishonest) and calls his post House-career “influence peddling.”

Part of that consulting was done for mortgage giant Freddie Mac to the tune of $1.6 million from 1999 to 2008. But he’s an outsider, he says. As an outsider, what could he have possibly had to sell Freddie Mac?

Bill, as a Latter-Day Saint, yes we got some blinging temples, both great and small all over the world, about 140 I believe. Been to a few of them . They are consecrated bldgs where we make and keep scared covenants with the Lord. They are the Lord’s houses, isn’t he worth the effort? We pay and maintain them through our tithes. Every penny is accounted for (Hubby is over our area audit committee) We also GENEROUSLY donate to relief , whether disaster or general welfare of all whether and usually, non-member needs, all over the world. Definitely, Donald is a piker, but next to practically anyone!

As to Willard closing down his Swiss bank acct. when investment adviser noted that it might not be smart to see that on the financial resume’ of a candidate for POTUS——-I suspect it was also the news that as the DOJ and IRS have gone after these Swiss banks which were hiding money of U.S. citizens, they were also seeking information to identify the thousands of Americans who have been guilty of offshore tax evasion. It was rumored that there were recognizable names on the list. Here’s an Oct 24, 2011 Bloomberg story on this:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-24/swiss-banks-said-ready-to-pay-billions-disclose-customer-names.html

This is why billionaires and millionaires (including some dems) will spend a whole lot of money to try to make PBO a one term President…they pay whatever and do whatever to whoever to get this man out of the White House…sure PBO’s skin color is the reason why some folks hate him, but THE COLOR OF MONEY IS THE BIGGER REASON!

This may be the key to things going forward. Gingrich’s political gifts are solely those of an arsonist. Challenged with the reality of what he’s always been, he will bluster and fume and light a dozen strawmen on fire, but he’ll never actually answer the damn question in a way that anyone with the intellect of an andiron would find to be adequate. Asked any kind of decent follow-up, and you can almost see his megalomania collide with his insecurities while he gropes for what comes next. Now, it is possible that the GOP base, which is, in the words of the late, great George V. Higgins, as soft as church music, has decided en masse that, Hell with it, we just want to burn the whole motherfker down. In which case, Gingrich may still be in as strong a position as he was before the night began. However, as an indication of how the debates against Barack Obama might go in the fall, Gingrich made himself look silly last night. Three hours? Lincoln-Douglas style? The president would be singing Al Green tunes over Gingrich’s smoking hulk 45 minutes into the show. Willard, though, now that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of tedium.

Actually, Ms. Goldberg is basically calling on liberals and progressives to do what we use to do from the turn of the 20th century to the ’60s.

Where do you think the Religious Right learned how to organize? They learned it from us! But, for the last 30-40 years, we forgot how and some of us today even assume that labor laws, Social Security, Medicare, etc just magically appeared out of nowhere with no effort, setups, compromise, or stuggle.

I really want to thank Obama for helping us remember what it really takes to get something done.

Romney needs four lawyers, including the former IRS commissioner to defend his tax plan:

Romney’s campaign held a conference call with reporters this morning to defend and explain his tax returns, and apparently felt the need to have former IRS Commissioner Fred Goldberg, along with three other top lawyers and his campaign communications director to explain the returns. At one point, the call had to be interrupted so officials could confer with mega accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Now Romney’s giving a pre-buttal to the SOTU. How many prebuttals and midbuttals and postbuttals do we need? Dozens? This is just way out of hand and utterly ridiculous. And the media is treating it all like it’s just normal.

And that is why they will lose. They make his right and obligation to present the state of our country, a political one. This is the same crap they spout during re-election time. They can’t handle the truth of Pres Obama, and are terrified the regular folk who rarely pay attention to policy and politics hear him . They don’t what the fence-sitters to be dissuaded from their line on attacks and the half-truths or lies they spout. I can hardly wait for tonight!

After weeks of refusals and equivocation, Mitt Romney finally released his tax returns last night to a handful of media outlets, showing that he made $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million last year. He only actually released one year of returns, 2010, and his estimated return for 2011, even though many have called on him to follow the precedent set by his father and release many more years of returns.
Nonetheless, there is much to learn from the astonishing 550 pages of returns Romney released:

🙂 I am stunned that Romney made $57,000 a day for the past two years (higher than the median yearly income of $50,221) and paid only 13.9% in taxes. There is no fairness here at all! I am so looking forward to SOTUS🙂

I’m assuming most of us here are happy with last night’s debate result? The MSM and Repubs were looking for blood lust from Newt and didn’t get it. I’m actually glad Romney looked ‘stronger’ — he can look as strong as he likes in the clown car debates but he’s no match for Obama.

And then there’s Romney thinking that his 2010 and 2011 returns should be released on the day of the SOTU, knowing what was in them…….

I am having debates in my own brain, wondering which one of these monsters I want to be the face of the Republican Party. What do you guys think?

I have a hard time with that too. Newt’s ability to motivate the racist crowd in SC scared me completely and Romney is such a slime ball weasel who is an incredibly wealthy rich guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth who does not deserve to be president and who will say anything (lies) to get people to vote for him while money continually falls out of the pockets (and into swiss bank accounts and in the cayman island). They are both Evil. I really just want to fast forward and have POB win already next Nov!

Good morning, Ghips, how do I bring my comments over from the last thread or do you do that? Thanks. By the way, the video from Michelle Goldberg is absoluelyy spot on! wow! Still looking for my eyeglasses………….ugh!

I want to share a story with you that I found both funny and sad at the same time. I was grocery shopping yesterday and as I appproached the check-out, two female cashiers, age 30-40, were talking when the cashier in the next lane looked in my direction and asked, “When is the election?” I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or my cashier. No one responded so she repeated, “When is the presidential election? Is it this year or was it last year?” Now, it was not until the young man bagging my groceries looked at me and said, “You’re the right person to ask that question,” that it dawned on me the reason the topic even came up was because I was wearing two 2012 buttons clearly visible to everyone(except me). Trying to hide my shock at such a question I responded, “The presidential election is always every four years, the first Tuesday in November.” I got the feeling that she was concerned that she might have missed the election. It was very odd but then it got worse when my cashier said, “I have been registered to vote since I was 18 years old but voted for the first time for PBO”. To which I replied, “You must vote in every election. The reason Gov. Snyder is able to do what he is doing to this state (I live in MI) is because people do not vote regularly.” I said “Not to lecture you but as you can see people are upset and complaining but when you ask them if they voted in 2010 they say no. Well there you go. That’s what happens when you don’t vote.”

Needless to say I left the store with mixed feelings. I was sad that people are willfully ignorant in a way that just takes your breath away and there is very little messaging and catchy phrases can do to break through that kind of mindless fog. But, I was also encouraged that my simple gesture of public support for PBO, wearing the 2012 buttons, prompted an important exchange of information that could have a lasting impact on the way three people think about voting from here on out. At least, I hope so.

So, I guess the moral of this story is wear your buttons if you have them and are comfortable enough to publicly show your support and if you don’t have buttons yet, get them soon.

It is indeed sad, but the truth is they are right – their vote doesn’t count, IF THEY HAVEN’T VOTED. How to help them INTERNALIZE this?😦 You’ve made a good start with these three, L3! Thank you for your willingness to be already visible with months to go to the election. Who knows what the ripple effect will be from these three ‘new converts’ to their family/peers.😉 I really believe like OFA and LOTS of others here, that it’s these one-on-one non-confrontational interactions that are going to be the most meaningful. OBAMA/BIDEN 2012! [I haven’t started dreaming LANDSLIDE yet, but Bobfr’s mantra is starting to seep through. VC

During 2010, I called folks thru OBA, trying to get them out to the polls, and i could not believe people 1) where unaware it was not a presidential voting year, 2) One even said she was only gonna vote in2012, 3) another said she would but she didn’t really want to find her voting place (I then told her). Just as you say it was nonsense and laziness like that that we have those republican governors, like “commandant” Synder. Just think , how many races could have been won, pain avoided, because people were too indifferent or lazy.

I will be teaching during the SOTU, but I know I can come here after and get all the important information.

I also want to thank everyone who blogged about the debate. Reading about Gingrich and Romney being icky, is so much better than watching them on TV. I am very grateful to those of you who bravely when in and reported back.

WiW, why doesn’t your college suspend classes during the duration of the speech, &/ don’t you have the professional ‘right’ to incorporate the speech into your programme? It seems to me that this could be taken as a teaching moment. I guess I’m puzzled, because where I am, I could easily see a teacher using something like the SOTU as content, pulling it apart and scrutinizing its implications in virtually any subject area.

I teach Web Design. Students work in teams to produce free websites for non profits in the community. This week we have a class where I meet with the teams to discuss how conduct the first client meeting. NO overlap with SOTU. But it will be on video and I will have this wonderful sanctuary to return to about 9pm tonight.

I’m back after going to do real-life cooking, chauffeuring etc. (The buses in our town are still on strike after months!) You can see that I came back to see your answer because I really wanted to understand. 😆 Thanks for responding, WiW and I know you’ll get good commentary here when you are able to join in! Til then, have a good class! VC

1/23 Mitt attacks Newt for lobbying for Fannie and Freddie. In this attack Romney blames Fannie and Freddie for the conditions of the housing market in Florida. To Romney, Newt got rich while Floridians lost their homes.

1/24 Romney releases his tax records. His tax records show that he has invested money in Fannie and Freddie. The same Fannie and Freddie that, according to Romney, caused the housing woes for Florida’s homeowners. The same Fannie and Freddie he attacked Newt for.

This is also listed on the comprehensive achievement list from the environment page. It is amazing to me how many things the President has accomplished in the field of energy and environment. The list was truly ginormous

Thanks WIW for this information. I sent it to my opposition friends who can’t tell me one thing POB has done for them. I know they have the Smart Meter, because I went out and spoke with the installer the day he installed them in our community. I talked with him about the program and how it was working in our city, and at that time he said that his job was just so busy. The man had a job as well as helping the American people.

I saw my neighbor go out later that same day to proudly look at his meter, and I was able to say ,” Another promise kept, don’t you know by that wonderful President, Barack H. Obama.” They are as he states, “Ultra, Ultra Conservatives.” And they Do Not Like POB. But I always point out what benefits that they are receiving because of POB. They are seniors. It is a challenge, but I am a fighter to the end.HZ

Fox Propaganda is giving weak sauce for the SOTU. They’re sniveling that PBO is “Going Into Campaign Mode” For SOTU Because He’s “A Much Better Campaigner, Many People Have Said, Than President” (Steve Douchebag’s words)

They’re not even saying he’s a big spending liberal, they’re not even saying he failed to cut the deficit, they’re not sniveling that he’s tied to Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright, they’re saying he’s going into campaign mode. They have NOTHING of substance to refute the anticipation of the SOTU… I hope that President Obama once again SINGS like he did at the Apollo, so that their yaps will shut up about him not being able to connect and whatnot.

Oh Vero, where art thou?😀 I thought I’d do like you and respond on a newer thread rather than searching for a spot you may not return to. I think all your opinions regarding PBO’s debate/interview style are pretty valid, especially since FLOTUS has told him the same, in words. But, we have who we have. Good thing most of us get him, or his ratings would not be as high as they are. Some people want him to be fierce, temperamentally, but it’s not who he is. Also, FLOTUS said he’s stubborn, so what’s a supporter to do? PBO is gonna be PBO and we can only hope that he comes across stronger in the future. I do think however, with the current crop of bimbos running on the other side, and after watching the “more animated” PBO at the Apollo ( during the speech, that is), he realizes he will have to, as that video posted here yesterday says–throw down the gauntlet—and I believe he’s ready to do just that. After all, this is a run for re-election, and not a policy speech. His very political life depends on him giving all he’s got to give, and if we’ve read past descriptions of him when he’s in a rough spot, he comes out with daggers for the kill. Still waters run deep.

The New England Patriots are holding a contest for the best Local Public Service Employee.
Teachers, fire fighters and Cops will get a chance to win a trip to the Suoer bowl.
2 winners, will get all expense paid and tickets.

Unfortunately, Jovie, Mr. Kraft is a Republican, as seen on CNB, but we could use more GOP’ers like him in this country. A very decent, very charitable man with a great heart and mind, but who believes the private sector should be soley responsible in this country for both jobs and charity.

The Senate confirmed John M. Gerrard of Nebraska to be United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska 74-16 on Monday in its first vote of the year.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (D-Nev.) lead the Republican opposition to the judge stating Gerrard was a good man but had shown signs of holding allegiance to his personal view on the death penalty over the law during his years as a member of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

“I will vote against that nomination reluctantly, and I really don’t want to in one sense, but his nomination raises an important issue about the duty of a judge to be faithful to the law and to commit to serve under the law and under the Constitution,” said Sessions, who is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The House Monday evening easily approved two non-controversial bills, capping a light day that will be followed by a slightly more substantive Tuesday.

By a 373-1 vote, members approved H.R. 3317, the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act. This bill extends a now-expired program allowing states to issue electronic duck stamps, which can serve as hunting permits and help raise funds for conservation efforts.

And by a 278-100 vote, the House approved H.R. 1141, the Rota Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act. This bill authorizes Interior to study the feasibility of designating certain forests on Rota, in the Northern Mariana Islands, as part of the U.S. park system.

The inherent lying from Republican presidential hopefuls makes it difficult to gauge their true qualifications, and their campaign speeches have served to verify that most of their assertions are fallacious. It is often beneficial to listen carefully to concession speeches to determine how a candidate reacts after suffering through defeat, and after South Carolina’s primary last Saturday, Willard “Mitt” Romney reverted to using the tired canard that his prior accomplishments as investor and governor of Massachusetts are reasons he is a better choice to be the Republican standard bearer in the 2012 general election. For Americans with a memory, Romney’s broken record assertions may not be his best argument for winning the Republican nomination or the presidency.

After losing to Gingrich, Romney thanked the Republican field for a hard-fought campaign and leveled a bevy of attacks at President Obama and Gingrich highlighted by his oft-repeated exaggeration of his qualifications. In particular, Romney said that, “President Obama has no experience running a business and no experience running a state. Our party can’t be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business, or a state.” First, let’s get one thing straight; President Obama does not have executive experience running a state, but for the past three years he has run the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the Earth and he is still cleaning up after the last Republican president who had experience running a state and businesses.

Conservatives may embrace the notion of a vulture capitalist running this country, but for most Americans, leveraging struggling and start up businesses with debt and laying off untold numbers of employees is not the definition of a businessman. Romney slipped during one of the South Carolina debates and admitted that he did not run any business that added employees during his time at Bain Capital, so his assertion that he “ran a business” that created jobs is patently false. Bain Capital used other investors’ money to either shore up or cripple businesses with debt and profited from management fees and selling off failing businesses. While Romney ran Bain Capital, they closed more than 1,000 offices, stores and plants, and cut employee benefits, pensions and wages. American workers were laid off, and their jobs were outsourced to other countries, but Romney will never brag about those facts. Romney is a job-killing machine and he made hundreds-of-millions in the process.

When I went to confession yesterday my priest told me to say 3 Hail Marys and watch the Republican debates as my penance, so I saw most of last night’s shitshow. I think that priest know what he was doing, because I’ve resolved to keep the boozing and sodomy down to a minimum so I just have to say an Act of Contrition next time. That said, I have a couple of observations.

Brian Williams was careful to phrase his 47 questions about the ark of the horse race covenant, “electability”, in a way that kept him from getting smacked down by Newt. Instead of asking direct questions about each candidate’s weak spot, he repeated one candidate’s attack ads to the another. He also stayed away from Newt’s 3 marriages and counting. This led to an awesome half hour of Romney and Gingrich pounding on each other, with no real clear winner, though it’s probably good news for Romney that he finally landed a couple of solid shots, including channeling Steve Benen by pointing out that Newt resigned in “disgrace”.

The man-on-man action was pretty entertaining, but what struck me is the exchange I embedded above, where Romney unveils the centerpiece of his immigration strategy, “self-deportation”. In other words, he expects undocumented immigrants to leave voluntarily because his administration will make their lives miserable. The questioner, Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, asked the obvious follow-up question, “Isn’t that what we have now?” and Mitt replied with some earnest word salad about “e-verification”, which assumes that some magic card will reverse a 50 year national habit of hiring undocumented workers.

I’m more than a little sad to see him go. Aside from TOD, Political Animal was the only other blog that I checked multiple times a day. However, we must all embrace change and new opportunities. So I wish him the best at his new gig. Rachel’s show is pretty okay most of the time. And maybe Benen will be able to “talk Rachel down” the next time she starts preemptively giving up on the President.

How Mitt Romney’s Tax Rate Stacks Up: Comparing the Candidate To The Rest of Us

Now that Mitt Romney’s confirmed what we’ve long suspected about his effective federal tax rate — “It’s probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything” — we have a fact worth contextualizing. Though it could easily be less, assume Romney effectively pays 15 percent in taxes on all his income to the federal government. How does he stack up to the rest of us, most of whom are regular wage earners? When you account for the fact that most people also pay payroll taxes, and don’t enjoy enormous deductions, credits or other benefits, you see that Romney’s making out about as well as a taxpayer who makes $50,000 a year. Not bad for a man whose net worth is estimated to be in the neighborhood of a quarter billion dollars.

Chester teacher to join First Lady at State of the Union
By Dan Hardy
Inquirer Staff Writer

Sara Ferguson, one of the teachers who volunteered to work without pay if the Chester Upland School District ran out of money, has been invited to join First Lady Michelle Obama at tonight’s State of the Union address, the White House said this morning.

I’m devastated about Steve Benen’s departure. He has such a SINGULAR pragmatic progressive analytic voice. Still, I wish him the best and hope he’ll have the power/input to improve The Rachel Maddow Show. If you have a chance, TOD’ers, hope you take the time to drop a line of thanks on his blog. Damn, after TOD, his blog is my second go-to. He always keeps his eye on the big picture and neither allows himself to go into the emo-prog weeds nor does he vilify them.

Steve! I read you every day!! I KNEW something like this was up when you took 2 days offs and then a couple of more–I am happy for you, you certainly deserve it…but, but, what will I read with my morning coffee after TOD? Congrats Steve.

Some of President Obama’s allies are going after Mitt Romney with a Hispanic language ad in Florida. The labor union SEIU and the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA are up with a six figure ad buy in Spanish.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Adam C. Smith has the translated script: “Mitt Romney has no shame. He shows one face to the Hispanic community and another completely different one to everyone else. On the one hand, he launches a commercial here in Florida targeted to Hispanic voters to try and convince us that he shares our values. But in another state he boasts about having the endorsement of Kris Kobach, a leader in the anti-Hispanic movement and author of many anti-immigrant laws like Arizona’s SB 1070 that unfairly attack our families and spread fear and uncertainty in our communities.”

Via James Hohmann’s Morning Score, the Republican National Committee will air an ad in Washington D.C., Michigan and Virginia as a response to tonight’s State of the Union.

“It includes the clips of Obama saying that it things aren’t better in four years his will be a one-term proposition and then saying that Americans aren’t better off than they were four years ago,” Hohmann reports.

Warren Buffett’s secretary to sit with Michelle Obama during State of the Union

President Obama has called on a special guest to help him make his case for economic fairness during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night: Warren Buffett’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek.

Bosanek will be among the guests in first lady Michelle Obama’s box in the House chamber when Obama delivers his third annual report to Congress at 9 p.m. She is the inspiration for the president’s call for wealthier Americans to pay a higher tax rate, known as the “Buffett rule,” which Obama is expected to highlight again in his speech.

There were 1.9 million black-owned businesses in 2007, up 60.5 percent from 2002. Receipts of these businesses totaled $137.4 billion, up 55.1 percent from 2002.
In 2007, 37.6 percent of black-owned businesses were in health care and social assistance, repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services.
Black-owned businesses accounted for 28.2 percent of businesses in the District of Columbia, which led the nation, followed by Georgia, where 20.4 percent of businesses were black-owned, and Maryland, where 19.3 percent of businesses were black-owned.

African American women see their own challenges mirrored in Michelle Obama’s

By Krissah Thompson and Vanessa Williams, Published: January 23

As black women watch Michelle Obama on the national stage, they search — sometimes nervously — for nuances often lost on the larger culture. How she handles criticism, how she raises her children, even her style of dress, has the potential to counter negative stereotypes.

“She is mainstreaming to the world what a lot of us already know about ourselves,” says Dacenta Grice, a 37-year-old black woman who works as a physician assistant in Atlanta. “She reinforces the reality that so many of us live. She is a black woman who just seems fantastic in her own right, who just seems like every day people and is relatable.”